


Because He Understood

by Doop_Whoop



Category: RWBY
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, M/M, One Shot, Stay safe folks, Yes I’m desperate for more on the rest of the kids’ relationship with Qrow, Yes I’m still not over this, don’t read if you aren’t taking chapter 12 well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:02:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22489060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doop_Whoop/pseuds/Doop_Whoop
Summary: Jaune understands because it was him once. Jaune tries because, despite his progress, it still is.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 10
Kudos: 103





	Because He Understood

Never in a million years would Jaune have imagined he’d be in this situation.

He was tired. The fight with Neo left him with sore joints and tender bruises. Cinder had played her mind games again and was just as relentless and cruel to him and the others in battle. Ironwood was somewhat easier to deal with. After all, his own paranoia was what got him to that point. The entire group was exhausted, but they had one more stop to make.

Finding Qrow wasn’t too difficult. After getting their scrolls back in working order, Ruby pinged his location. Though that made things much easier, it was concerning to hear that he was out in the tundra. He hadn’t made any move to get closer to Atlas.

Jaune couldn’t say he completely understood the brooding man, and they certainly had their differences, but he knew Qrow cared. He saw it in the way he looked at his nieces. He saw it in the way he defended them all in battle. He saw it in the way he’d sigh with that ghost of a smile whenever they found themselves in a goofy situation.

He saw it in the way Qrow was trying. The way he was trying to stay sober, trying to be more positive, trying to right his wrongs. Trying to be who they needed him to be, by trusting them to do what they needed to do. 

They didn’t know what to expect. Despite Ruby and Yang’s attempts to get in touch with their uncle, there was no clear response. His aura levels, though initially lower than normal, had been steadily rising. Had he been hurt? Had something happened with Robyn or Clover? Did Tyrian escape? Jaune and the others watched the sisters silently fret as they made their way to his location. Winter had been kind enough to lend them an airship.

It was almost easy to miss him, but the dark spot against the snowy tundra stuck out nonetheless. As the airship landed, however, it began to settle over the group that something was truly wrong.

Yang and Ruby hopped out first, already worked up over Qrow’s strange behavior. Blake and Weiss followed suit. Jaune tailed after, his team and Oscar close behind.

Nothing could have prepared the young huntsmen and huntresses for the scene before them.

Just a few feet away lay Harbinger. The bloody blade soiling the white snow beneath it. Farther down, in the opposite direction, the debris of an Atlesian prison transport obscured the tundra it rested on. The worst sight, however, was that of Qrow who sat in the middle of it all. His harsh sobs broke through the ambience of the icy land. His hands clinging desperately to Clover’s, who lay limp in front of him. His white uniform now drenched with crimson, and his green eyes devoid of life.

Qrow hadn’t acknowledged the kids. He hadn’t looked up once. Ruby and Yang sprinted to his side, but Jaune knew there was nothing to be done. Still, he tried. He kneeled on the opposite side of the Ace Op leader, his hands hovering just above the gruesome wound that took the man down. The swordsman tried not to focus on it much, the thought made him sick. Instead, he focused on extending his aura, searching for that of the man below him. He had a job to do, even if he knew the outcome would most likely be disappointing. Still, he tried.

He tried because he saw what was happening between the two. The others did too, but it was none of their place to speak. Qrow wasn’t the type to feel comfortable around just anyone. He wasn’t the type to just lay himself bare. He didn’t let his guard down, but with Clover he did. He let himself trust the Ace Op. He began to trust himself. 

Qrow wasn’t the type to fall in love, but he had started to, and they saw it. So, Jaune tried.

He tried because he understood. 

He understood the pain of losing a partner. The person you trusted to have your back in battle. He understood the pain of losing that dear friend. The person who always knew just what to say when you didn’t even know what to think. He understood the pain of losing the one person who refused to give up on you, even when you had. The one who made you want to fight for yourself and for them.  


He understood the pain of losing the one you loved. To never get a proper ending, especially when things were just beginning.

So, he tried.

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 12 still stings, and chapter 13 is another hand winding up to smack me full force again. Let’s go (fair) gamers.
> 
> This is my second ever fic and I’ve never written for Jaune before so hopefully it isn’t too ooc, but it’s 1am and I have classes tomorrow. Grab some tissues and enjoy.


End file.
